Remember years ago when Clive Owen was everybody’s pick to play James Bond after Pierce Brosnan was out of the role. It was Owen’s appearance in a series of action-packed short films from BMW that seemed to set him up nice for the role as audition pieces.
That mysterious “driver” character returns The Escape, a new series from BMW Films to celebrate the 15 year anniversaey of Owen’s first spin beehind a BMW’s wheel in The Hire. The first series brought in elite directors such as John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Guy Ritchie, John Woo and Tony Scott. This time, DIstrict 9’s Neill Blomkamp is in charge.
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Owen is once again The Driver (…not to be confused with the Ryan Gosling real hero from Drive, since automotive tough guys apparently are too busy to name themselves…). He’s joined by Dakota Fanning and Jon Bernthal in daring exploits that will once again raise questions of what might’ve been with Owen and James Bond.
Though 007 producers want Craig back for a fifth film ASAP, maybe The Escape might remind everybody that Owen was once fans’ first pick. Rumors say he wasn’t overly interested in the role, and it’s not like he’s longed for work every since Craig came on the scene, but there’s no denying Clive had the look and the presence for everything Bond.
